A report from Real Vail. "Nate Hall, certified luxury specialist and broker associate with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Colorado Properties, notes that strong buyer demand and limited inventory in the resort/luxury communities of Vail, Beaver Creek, Cordillera, and Arrowhead have led to heightened competition among buyers. 'The allure of these mountain communities as vacation destinations and investment opportunities continue to attract affluent buyers looking for second homes or investment properties,' said Hall. 'While current market conditions favor sellers, it is the properties that are priced right (to market value), in the right location, and updated are the ones moving quickly and at times, creating multiple offer scenarios. While demand is high, today’s buyers are savvy and won’t overpay.'"

"Paula Fischer, broker associate with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Colorado Properties, notes she is also seeing sellers who are moving on to the next chapter in their lives. 'Down valley and local market sellers are more willing to negotiate than a couple of years ago, making it more attractive for buyers.' added Fischer."

Canon City Daily Record in Colorado. "A Florence couple was not surprised when they learned a contractor they previously had done business with recently was arrested for allegedly defrauding more than $2 million from his customers. The couple says the arrest was long overdue. On March 5, Dwight Mulberry, 52, and his wife Joni Mulberry, 40, owners and operators of their Monument-based company, Craftsman Homes & Interiors, LLC, were arrested on suspicion of stealing, defrauding and laundering more than $2 million in funds from several victims. Rick and Becky Wallen started working with Mulberry in July 2021. 'We thought this guy was really legit because he spent at least three hours with us, showing us different things and really making us feel good about it,' Rick Wallen said. 'He spent some time with us, a couple of times. Then we gave him earnest money.'"

"They were supposed to receive an invite to a portal where they could track progress on the project, but once they finally got access, they noticed that no work had started. 'That's when I started asking for my money back,' Rick Wallen said. 'When I started asking for my money back and he was giving me a hard time, I said, 'let's just be honest with this, you don't have the money to build this house. You just don't. You have no money. If you did have money, the ground would have been broke.'"

KCCI in Iowa. "The owners of a multi-million-dollar, 55+ housing development in Waukee have filed for bankruptcy. Now, contractors, investors and buyers trying to move in are wondering what's next. 'Well, first I heard of it was this morning when you called, and I was shocked,' said Clive property investor Kurt Brewer. Brewer is just hearing the news about the Estates of Waukee. Pella developer Jeff Ewing recently filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. It appears construction on his 55+ townhouse project is shut down. Many of the units are nearing completion, but no one has moved in."

"Federal court documents show there is a long list of creditors owed millions of dollars. Brewer sold Ewing the land and was promised one of the townhouses. For now, he's out $367,000. He says the Ewings are victims of high interest rates. 'The people who are buying in and wanted to live there get hurt. And I think the Ewings are good people. It's just that they're they got hurt because of the interest rate environment and that economic environment,' said Brewer. 'Many, many things out of their control nipped them. And it's it’s really tragic.'"

WVUE in Louisiana. "The redevelopment of New Orleans’ abandoned Lindy Boggs Medical Center has stalled, frustrating the owner and neighbors, and leading the developer to begin exploring other options for the property. 'It’s been one attempt after another to try to get funding through other sources,' said Thomas Ecker, president of the Mid-City Neighborhood Organization. 'Inflation, you have high interest rates, you have high insurance rates, it all caught up. The person who owns this now, I have no ill will toward William Hoffman. He is a stand-up dude who wants to do good things. He’s just in a bad spot. I just don’t want to see Mid-City being this dumping ground for high-density residential spaces.'"

The Real Deal on California. "Group I, the developer behind San Francisco’s first office-to-home conversion, has defaulted on a $26 million loan tied to the historic building. The locally based developer was served a notice of default from its lender for the mortgage for 988 Market Street, in Mid-Market, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. In her State of the City address last week, Mayor London Breed, who is running for re-election in November, trumpeted the Warfield office-to-housing conversion project as part of her aim to restore the city’s ailing Downtown."

"Some 35.6 percent of the offices across San Francisco stand empty during a broad shift to remote work. The record vacancy has shrunk foot traffic and hurt sidewalk businesses. Converting the unused offices into homes is touted as a way to bring people and life back to Downtown. Breed has announced a new initiative to bring 30,000 residents into Downtown by 2030, according to the Chronicle."

"'To do that, we first need to create more housing Downtown. We’ve already passed a few local laws to remove and reduce fees and barriers to office conversions,' Breed said. 'Our first office conversion is actually happening right now, 34 new homes at the Warfield Building that would not be happening if we hadn’t stepped in, and more are coming.'"

Global News in Canada. "The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board's (TRREB) recently released Condo Market Report revealed that condo sales in the fourth quarter of last year were not only down 3.4 per cent on an annual basis with 3,446 units sold, but also the lowest quarterly sales recorded in the region since TRREB first began publishing condo market data in Q3-2011. Even during the onset of the pandemic in Q2-2020, sales were still higher, with 3,459 units sold, according to the TRREB condo report. 'Something that started five years ago may not even be finished yet, but it sold four years ago at pricing that was established four years ago,' said Marcus Plowright, a Realtor in London, Ont. 'And then people are struggling to get mortgages on those properties because they don't appraise them by the time they're finished.'"

"Right at Home Realty president John Lusin described a similar situation and called it the 'off-market assignment marketplace.' 'A lot of people who bought into the pre-con hype in the last few years, as they're coming up now to actually close, they are realizing that they aren't going to qualify, and they are trying to unload,' Lusink said. He says this is impacting the existing condos that are already built and available in the market. 'There are some buyers saying, 'Hey, maybe I can pick one of those ones that are close to being completed but for a much better price because those people have to sell, and they can't close.' So, there's a bit of turbulence in the market,' Lusink said."

"As for those planning to sell in the coming months, Matthew Gravina, a Realtor with Real Brokerage said that sellers really need to do their homework. 'Sellers in the condo market in Toronto, and urban Toronto specifically, have been spoiled over the past few years … with the exception of last year,' he said. 'If you own a condo, and you were in a position to sell, all you needed to do was hand your keys off to an agent, they put it on the market, they could take photos on a flip phone, and the thing would sell. And it would sell for record numbers. That was the reality of the market, where today, that's not really the case.'"

News.com.au in Australia. "Iron ore prices have plunged another 7 per cent this week. And China’s refusal to bail out the developers behind that country’s burst property bubble means the worst is yet to come. China’s National People’s Congress concluded on Monday night. Economists had been watching it closely in the hope that a massive government stimulus package would be announced to revive the country’s stagnating economy. But China’s real estate tycoons won’t be getting a bailout. Instead, China’s Communist Party seemed more interested in punishing the property magnates behind the $7.5 trillion market’s collapse."

"'Those who commit acts that harm the interests of the masses will be resolutely investigated and punished in accordance with the law. They will be made to pay the due price,' Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong said at the weekend. So Australia’s iron ore export cash bonanza – which has been credited for saving the federal budget over several terms of government – may soon be over."

The Associated Press. "Some investors in a troubled trust fund in China are facing financial ruin under a government plan to return a fraction of their money, casualties of a slump in the property industry and a broader economic slowdown. Sichuan Trust, headquartered in the southwest city of Chengdu, announced it was insolvent in 2020, stricken by sketchy accounting and failed investments in shopping malls and other projects. A deadline earlier this month to accept a 20%-60% 'haircut' or loss on their investments has left some investors in deep financial trouble, according to public announcements and AP interviews with five people affected."

"Trusts are a cross between a bank and an investment fund. They're actually private entities that fund projects like factories and shopping malls. Weak disclosure requirements allowed them to use money from new investors to pay what they owed earlier ones, a set-up somewhat like a Ponzi scheme. 'We’re extremely anxious,' one investor who asked not to be named told The AP. 'It’s so cruel, the amount of money they’re giving us is so little.'"

"Some investors were retirees who said they met the investment threshhold by collecting money from friends and relatives who now want their money back. For them, Sichuan Trust’s default is a calamity. 'They’re so poor, they don’t have money to spend,' said a relative of investors who lost money to the trust. 'They don’t have money for medical treatment. They have to borrow money to survive.' 'The country said trusts are very safe, like banks,' one of the people said. 'We didn't think there would be problems.' Instead of enjoying their retirements, two of the people said, they've had to borrow money from relatives and cut back on their expenses. 'We ordinary people are miserable,' another investor said. 'The corruption is so serious.'"

From Reuters. "Chased by debt collectors over a mortgage delinquency in a southern Chinese city, former finance worker Lei Xiaoyu no longer answers her phone as she tries to delay the inevitable. 'It's my only house and I don't want it foreclosed. But what can I do?' said the 38-year-old, who in late 2022 lost her job and stopped repaying the mortgage and credit card debt she took to buy a 1.3 million yuan ($181,139) home in Huizhou. 'I feel like I wasted my youth,' she said, regretting the purchase seven years ago."

"The number of foreclosed homes in China rose 43% year-on-year in 2023 to 389,000, said China Index Academy, a major independent real estate research firm. More than 50,000 other units were foreclosed in January, up 64.4% year-on-year, the firm said. Lei is in no mood to spend money. She made about 40,000 yuan last year selling goods via livestreaming, not enough to make any of the 4,200 yuan monthly mortgage payments and barely enough for basic living expenses. 'All the clothes I wear are from five years ago, but I've gained weight and many no longer fit me. My friend gave me one of her old coats. I haven't travelled since 2017,' said Lei. Not being able to support her mother who lives on a 3,000 yuan monthly pension upsets her the most."

"The failures highlight the excess housing supply built up during the boom years of the property sector, which accounted for about a quarter of economic activity at its peak in 2021. Xin, a 30-year-old single mother from Zhumadian, in the central Henan province, lost her flat after she mortgaged it to start a child entertainment business, which failed within weeks due to COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020. The property, valued in 2019 at 310,000 yuan, was auctioned twice in the past year for the 170,000 yuan Xin owes to the bank, but failed to attract any bids. 'Who would buy it? There are more than 10 flats up for auction in the same building,' said Xin, who only gave her surname, citing privacy reasons."